The former league MVP’s unexcused absence is a warning to the franchise that their win-now mentality could end up costing them dearlyBy now it’s obvious that the New York Knicks are not, at least primarily, a sports franchise at this point of their existence. They are really more of a long-running dark comedy occasionally interrupted by athletic displays that usually – but by no means always – resemble NBA games. Even by the Knicks’ standards, however, the events of the last few days have been unusual.On Monday night, the Knicks players had to prepare for a game without knowing the status of one of their team-mates. Starting point guard Derrick Rose did not show, and his team’s attempts to contact...
The Golden State Warriors’ dream season ends in a LeBron James nightmare; legends leave the game; the basketball world mourns Pat SummittYou can be forgiven for thinking that the Cleveland Cavaliers were finished. After all, no team in NBA history had ever come back from a 3-1 NBA Finals lead and they were playing a Golden State Warriors team that wasn’t just good but historically unprecedented. Having gone 73-9 in the regular season, the 2015-16 Warriors were arguably a single win away from being in the “best NBA team ever” conversation. Continue reading...
The Dallas Mavericks have said they will not stoop to tanking but most fans would happily undergo pain in return for a little successWhen I read that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will not allow his abysmal 3-13 basketball team to succumb to the darkness and tank for better odds in the draft lottery, I clutched my imaginary pearls in horror. No team is too good to tank. If the Lakers could do it for three seasons and the Celtics could let their aging championship core stroll up the interstate to Brooklyn, why are the Mavericks of all teams so snooty about it?I understand that tanking a professional sports team is considered a social faux pas akin to manspreading on...
The Knicks president wasn’t being racist with his comments about LeBron James but they showed a man badly out of touch with the modern NBAThe Phil Jackson era of the New York Knicks continues to provide the basketball world with non-stop embarrassments. In an interview with ESPN, the Knicks president described LeBron James’s business associates as his “posse”. That resulted in strong rebukes from not just James but also Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks’ star player. It didn’t take long for James’s camp to respond to Jackson’s comments. James’s business manager Maverick Carter took to Twitter to respond to Jackson’s use of the loaded term “posse.” Related: LeBron James says he's lost respect for Phil Jackson over 'posse' comment Continue reading...
Sporting giants are on the front line of setting the cultural tone and they should be praised when they raise their heads above the parapetGregg Popovich began with an apology. “I don’t think my voice is that important,” replied the San Antonio Spurs coach when asked his views on the US election. But then, over the course of six impassioned minutes, one of the greatest coaches in the NBA history sank the verbal equivalent of multiple three-pointers from mid-court. “I’m sick to my stomach,” he sighed, his voice now quivering with anger and a deepening anguish. “Not because the Republicans won but the disgusting tenor and tone and all of the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist and misogynistic.”The...